The Beginning of the End
by RanChu
Summary: -Fanfiction Shingeki no Kyojin- (eng. / In Time / Pairing: Reiner/Bertholdt/Reiner/Berwick*) It all started with three childhood friends, dreaming of a place beyond the fields, behind huge walls, where they would be save again and could start a new life. What they didn't knew - they possessed great power with which they could save mankind... but destiny planned something else.
1. PROLOGUE

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

The sky was clear and the sun was shining, but it still was cold, especially when the wind blew it's icey odem into their faces. No clouds to cover the clear blue sky, not even a little and the birds just started their new journey to a much better place. So did two young boys. Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Fubar.

Where they grew up, there was nothing left. The Titans, huge monsters eating and killing other humans just like that, destroyed everything they knew and loved. Their friends and families. Their homes. All of them. All of it. Everything. Just a few people of the small village, in the lands far away in the southern from the walls, have survived. The ones who had been left wanted to live on, but instead of going together in one big group, they all built just very small groups or went on this trip to the walls on their own. Reiner and Bertholdt always had been real close friends, so they decided to go together. "So. Let's go.", Reiner said while taking up his backpack. Bertholdt, sweaty and shy as he was, just stood there: "Shouldn't we still wait a bit? Maybe... Maybe there are some who want to join us. Well... It would be nice. We would be much more save." The blonde boy turned around to his friend while looking irritated at him: "You're sure there will be?" Bertholdt just looked at the gras with a sad glare. Reiner sighed, he really didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. "Yeah~ It would be nice though, but -", as he tried to explain why it would just stay the two of them, Reiner got interrupted by a known voice. "Hey! Reiner! Bertholdt! Wait!" It was Berwick! Another very good friend of them which they knew from their early days on. The blonde turned over to him: "Oi! You'll come with us?!" Berwick nodded while walking, no, running towards them. "I thought you had been going to the walls with some of the others who survived?!" As Berwick got closer, hardly controlling his breath, he started to talk: "Well... Actually-" and his look went to the green as well as Bertholdts before. Reiner suddenly started to talk while putting a hand on his friends shoulder: "Okay then! So, we can go now?" With a bright smile, happy that he would join, he wanted to cheer Berwick up as well as giving him a feeling of savity. Bertholdt knew exactly why his blonde friend interrupted the other one from talking about the first group he wanted to go with. They both, Reiner and Bertholdt, knew exactly what he wanted to say and Berwick as well as Bertholdt were very thankful about Reiner to make him shutting his mouth. /No saying it out loud./, Bertholdt thought and swalloed hardly. The young brown-haired boy was really scared of this journey, of these Titans, so it was very good to NOT hear the explanation for Berwicks decision to come with them. For his suddenly changed decision. Bertholdt could imagine, but didn't wanted to know more details. Anyways, now he could take up his backpack as well and as he did, Reiner went besides him: "Don't be scared. I'll protect you." Bertholdt looked down at him, since Reiner was quite a shorty next to himself. Appearantly a soft smile came onto his face. "I'll protect the both of you! For sure! This is a promise!", Reiner shouted out loud to make sure that the two boys heard it. "Okay then! That way guys!", Reiner pointed with one finger at the horizon and they started their journey to the walls. /It'll be much longer that way, but i won't go the other. I don't want to end up like the others. Not now.../, for a short second Reiner turned around to his taller friend. Gladly he couldn't read his mind otherwise Bertholdt would surely get even more nervous and scared. And then? Just think about Berwick! The blonde didn't wanted to imagine, not really, nope, what he just must have been watching. He just knew one thing: It must have been one bloody, traumatizing mess. "Everything fine?", a soft voice mumbled to Reiner. A rear seeable nod followed.

They all sure had their concernes, they are still so young. Surely none of them thought that any of them would survive this journey and arrive at the walls save, but who knew it anyway? But what if? What if they make it? If they all really arrive safely at the Walls? What would happen next? Still a long time to go to think about it. The journey just began. The journey to a better place. Into a better world. This was just the Beginning of the End. 

-PROLOGUE END-


	2. CHAPTER I : Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek

Chapter 1: 

Hide and Seek 

As anyone could tell by just one easy look, they'd been exhausted. Each one of them. "Reiner... Can't we do at least a little break to rest for just a few minutes?", Berwick sighed almost out of breathe and in pain. His feet really didn't want to walk any further. "Come on... You must be exhausted as hell as well. You definitly could need some minutes to rest, too." Actually Reiner wanted to protest about it, but Berwick was right. The blonde boy was done as hell. They had been walking, straight into the fields, since hours. Maybe also already a day or two. Crazy Shit. "Okay, okay.", he sighed, "But just for a few minutes. We can't stay at one point for to long. It'll be too dangerous." Bertholdt and Berwick nodded, the same time they had a bright smile within their faces.

They made a little stop in the middle of the fields. Reiner thought it would be much more secure, since they could see from each direction if a titan would come closer.

The three boys sat down to rest their bodies for some minutes, when suddenly a deep grumbling noice appeared. Berwick and Reiner first looked up, thought a titan would come closer, but there was nothing. Their looks layed on Bertholdt and the two laughed at him. "Hahaha~ Are you hungry, big guy?", Reiner mentioned laughing. Bertholdt blushed and turned his face embarrassed away. "Come on~ It's nothing bad about it nor something you have to be embarrassed about.", a soft voice made it's way, through all the laughter, to Bertholdt. "Nah~ Come on... Don't be mad... I guess we all are..." Berwick was right. Again. Everyone was. So Bertholdt turned his face over to the brown-haired and smiled gently. "Reiner?" The blonde layed down at the gras, looking up to the sky. "As soon as we find something." The others also layed back in the gras, looked all together at the same almost clear blue sky. "One day, we will look at this sky again. With not only Freedom in our hearts." Hopefully.

Minutes passed by while they were laying in the gras, resting. Suddenly the earth beneath them began to vibrate. It felt like an earthquake, but it wasn't. They stood up and took up their stuff as fast as they could and looked right into the faces of the "earthquake". Titans. About 10 of them running straight towards them. "FUCK!", is what they all thought in that first moment, facing those monsters. "RUN!", shouted Reiner and just began to run, never loosing his focus on the right direction. Bertholdt and Berwick followed instantly. Where the boys where running at the moment? None of them knew it. They just wanted to get away from those things. They came near a forest. "Reiner! The forest!", Berwick shouted with mixed feelings. A forest could be a good place to get rid of them, but it also could have been the place where this titan heir was living. Bertholdt just started to get slowlier. The tall, brown-haired boy was scared as hell. A forest incarnated nothing good for him. Berwick looked back at him, since Bertholdt fell back. "Bertholdt! Come on!" The blonde heard everything, so he turned around as well: "Hang in there big guy! We'll be safe! Come on!" - "How can you be so sure about it?!", Bertholdt shouted back with tears running down his face. He was so fucking scared and he was still all this cooled down. He wished for at least a bit of the security. "Just trust me! I'll protect you! You'll be safe! I won't let them do anything to anyone of you!" The tall one took a very deep breath and started, a little second later, to run faster again. Berwick was glad that Bertholdt calmed down. Reiner had a really strong character. He understood exactly what to do. Berwick actually never would have guessed that the blonde would be able to do so. And now? There they were. The forest. "We have to split up! We'll meet at the other side again! And whatever happens: Don't stop moving!" Both had to swallow down a big piece of curosity and anxiety. "Let's play hide and seek!" 

They ran all straight into the forest. Never stopping, not even a second. Their goal: The other side of the forest.

After a while Bertholdt arrived on the other side. He didn't met much of those big-ass "humans". Gladly.

On the other side he was always running up and down. "Where are they?", if he would have had to guess, he would have already thought that they were missing since almost a hour.

"BERWICK!" - "REINER!" one after another he screamed their names, waited for some response.

And where had they been?!

The comrades of Bertholdt faced titans. Reiner a little less than Berwick and Reiner also was almost there, at the horizont, when he suddenly heard a scream of Berwick. That was when he stopped, turned around and ran back. Not a little moment later he faced Berwick, surrounded by two titans. "HEY! YOU DAMN UGLY SHIT-HEADS! HERE AM I!" The titans turned over to Reiner and put their focus on him. "Run...", he formed his lips and Berwick ran into the much safer place while Reiner made the titans beeing focused on him after all. 

Bertholdt was still running up and down. His breathe got heavier. There was almost no breathe left to scream their names. But then he noticed someone coming out of the forest. It was Berwick! He ran towards him: "Berwick!" Winking and jumping so that the other brown-haired boy would notice him. He did! Berwick came over to Bertholdt and hugged him gratefully. "You are alive... Thank god!" Bertholdts eyes were going around the place, searching for some blonde hair. "W-Where is... Where is Reiner?!" The brown-haired started to shiver so bad, like someone has put icecubes in his shirt, when he has seen the mimic of Berwick. "He... Reiner... He is still in there...", silently whispering to the tallest, "I was attacked by these monsters and he... He took all the focus on himself... Saving my life..." - "WHAT?!" Totally shocked about what he just heard, the tall boy directly wanted to run back to the woods - saving Reiner of course, but Berwick held him back. "No! Bertholdt! This is to dangerous!" Bertholdt fought against the grip of the other boys fingers. "But... Reiner is in Danger! We can't just stay here and let him d-", suddenly the voice of the tallest began to crack, while tears started to run down his face. Reiner? Dead?! What if!? Just thinking about 'What if' made Bertholdt fall to the ground, trying to catch his grip again. "He's gonna be alright, Bertl.", and a soft touch on his shoulder was noticeable. "Berwick.", with a shivering voice and puppy eyes he look up to his friend.

It sounded like a thunderstorm would come up by each second, but it had been trees breaking down. Both of the boys suddenly had all their focus again on the forest, trying to get a hint what is going on? Bertholdt whipped away his tears to get a much more clear look and what he had been looking at, made his body freeze. "Reiner!", Berwick noticed with a happy face, while Bertholdt gladly heated up again, turned around, took his friend by the hand and started to run like he never did before. Berwick turned over and began to run as well, but beeing a little confused. So the young brown-haired boy looked over his shoulder to get maybe a look at what the other one must have got a look on and he started to tremble, almost fell to the ground. Reiner had been hunted by a not very tall, but ugly as a shrimp, titan. Reiner himself almost fell down over and over again. His weak muscles, in his legs, just couldn't work it out anymore. It was just a short question of time when his legs beneath him would break in. Suddenly Berwick fell because he didn't watch his feet and the ground anymore and lost the hold of Bertholdts hand. The tallest stopped by immediately and turned over. "Berwick!?" The young boy shaked his head and held it. Everything was turning around for some seconds. He tried to focus on Reiner and with a thin breathe he called out for his name. Bertl look at him irritated, then looked up and has seen the same.

He left Berwick at his place to give him some seconds to recover. Bertholdt had been pushing forward. Reiner actually didn't run anymore. It was more trembling forward, with falling down from time to time, but getting up again. Over and Over. Until he really fell and didn't get up again.

Bertholdt pushed and pushed forward, heard suddenly Berwick screaming Reiners name out of shock and screamed out Reiners name as well with all the power he still had inside.

Looking at this ugly titan coming now closer and closer and with jumping forward to attack the blonde boy on the ground.

His heartbeat got slowlier and slowlier . The world around him became silent while he suddenly had the feeling that his heart stopped beating. He whispered his friends name a last time, while closeing his eyes and in the next moment, he just bit his finger out of anger. Anger that he couldn't enter his place early enough to maybe help... At least somehow... He couldn't... Let Reiner... Just die... Tears rushed down his face, didn't he want to imagine a life without that Blondie. Infront of his inner eye, pictures of the past had been running through. All the times when Reiner stood in for his problems and mistakes. He... He just simply couldn't let him die here, could he?! 

And the world shut down. 

A lightning hit the ground and along with it a hard sound of electricity.

Suddenly at the place of Bertholdt, there was standing a 50 m class titan who seemed to start a punch. His arms had been really long, so he easily could bash away that granny.

What happened?

That was all Bertholdt had up in his mind just by now. Everything was so blurry and it seemed like the tallest of the three boys was up in the air, looking down on the scenario which made his anger grow.

That bitch wanted to attack him. Him! The only thing he guessed, who was ever worth fighting for. Bertholdt screamed all his breath out of his lungs, while the 50 m class attacked that granny titan and pushed out a loud and scary scream.

And there she went by like a Home Run! The titan screamed again - Bertholdt screamed again while tears had been running down. He let out all his adrenaline.

A short glance to Reiner, whispering his name as well. Was he still alive? He was just sleeping, right?!

With slow movements he went to grab Reiner, putting him slowly over, right into Berwicks arms who was looking up to that 50 m class titan that just came out of nowhere. "B-B-Bertholdt?", he whispered his friends name unsure if it really was him.

Bertholdt looked down on him, didn't found it strange, not even a bit since he always had to look down on Berwick.

But the looks he gave. What was it?

"Berwick? What's wrong?", he munbled unsure. But then he heard a scream like from one of those beasts, instead of his voice. Bertholdts blood was freezing. Now that he thought about it... What the fuck?! Was... Going... On?!

What happened?! Why had Berwick that scared look on his face?! Was... He...?! 

There he'd gone again.

The world blacked out. 

Fog started to surround the body of that strange beast. And surprise!

Bertholdt stood again infront of the boy. Did it mean that... Bertholdt? Bertholdt was that titan just right a few minutes ago?!

Bertholdt looked at his friends beeing save and then fell to the floor. He was done. He just wanted to sleep... So badly.

Berwick layed Reiner by side and stood up, running over to Bertholdt. He touched him, asking for his health, while realizing that unnatural heat coming from the body of his.

Berwick was still confused, but for now, all he had to care for was finding a safe place to hide and to somehow get those two unconscious boys there.


End file.
